The Maternal, Infant, Early Childhood Home Visiting Act, known as MIECHV, serves nearly 1,000 Oregon families by providing weekly assistance to parents who feel ill-equipped to raise children. Services include home safety checks and guidance on how to interact with and encourage a child.

These voluntary services often help parents living in poverty, or who grew up in cycles of abuse and neglect.

With more than 10,000 kids abused and neglected each year in Oregon, that number would rise if the act isn't reauthorized, said Martha Brooks, state director of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids.

To that end, Salem-area law enforcement officials met with media Monday urging renewed funding for the programs because of their track record for curbing crime.

The Children's Health Insurance Program, commonly referred to as CHIP, helped more than 140,000 children and more than 6,000 pregnant women in Oregon in 2016. It covers standard health benefits like dental screenings and immunizations for families who make too much money to qualify for Medicaid, but who can't afford private coverage.

Nationwide, these programs benefit 9 million children and their families.

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., are at the center of the decision, both serving on committees that could vote on the reauthorization this month.

Additionally, Wyden worked with Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, to introduce a measure that would extend CHIP for five years. Walden has described CHIP as an important piece of legislation; he voted in favor of reauthorization in 2015.

Home Visiting Act

The Maternal, Infant, Early Childhood Home Visiting Act provides funding for programs nationwide that help parents learn to parent.

While interacting with and caring for a child may come easily to some, not all parents have the skills and resources they need, especially if they've grown up in abusive environments.

Under federal and state structures, organizations like Family Building Blocks in Marion and Polk counties receive enough money to service close to 20-25 percent of the families in need of the services. Without the home visiting act, Family Building Blocks will have to reduce the number of families served by at least 100.

The act was implemented in March 2010, following the Obama Administration’s budget request for a national home visiting program and a home visitation pilot program carried out in 15 states that was initiated by the Bush Administration, according to a congressional report. Some suggest Congress shouldn't only reauthorize the program, but expand funding.

Home visiting programs cost approximately $6,500 per child per year statewide, compared to the nearly $308 per day — more than $112,000 a year — it costs to house a youth at an Oregon Youth Authority correctional facility.

"Students who are abused and neglected are twice as likely to commit a crime by age 19 than similar children who have not experienced (these things) in the home," said Polk County District Attorney Aaron Felton. "I've always said if we have to choose between fighting crime and preventing crime, I'll take preventing crime every single time."

Home visits are voluntary and help families better provide their children with safe, developmentally-appropriate environments that allow them to succeed later in life. Officials said The effect of the program is less crime and better mental and physical health for the children.

“Home visiting programs ... can help break negative cycles that start with abuse and neglect and end with ruined lives that span generations,” said Keizer Chief of Police John Teague.

Children's Health Insurance

The Children's Health Insurance Program provides standard medical benefits, including dental screenings and immunizations, as well as mental health services.

The program was signed into law in 1997 and provides matching funds to states for health coverage to children in families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid, but who can't afford private coverage.

All states have expanded children's coverage significantly through their programs, with nearly every state providing coverage for children up to at least 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, according to the program's website.

In addition to basic health benefits, Salem Chief of Police Jerry Moore highlighted the connection between access to mental-health therapies and improvements to public safety.

He said among previously incarcerated youth, family therapy cuts re-arrests in half, and more extensive therapy reduced violent felony arrests by nearly three-quarters.

One study of youth with serious emotional disturbances found almost half wound up in the justice system, while another study found that these kids were roughly 13 times more likely to be arrested than children who didn’t suffer from serious emotional disorders, he said.

"It's not easy being a parent ... and it's even worse when you don't have the skills," Moore said. "I've been a cop for a long time. And I've been in homes where I look around and think, 'These kids don't have a chance.'